Bartender Atlas: Nora Koufou, Where were you born?
Nora Koufou: I was born in a small city in western Greece called Messolonghi. Which is near the lagoon. So very close to the sea. Very nice memories, very nice views.
BA: What city do you work in now?
NK: I work in Athens.
BA: What’s your job title, or how would you describe what you do in the hospitality industry?
NK: Currently I’m a head bartender at Line Athens.
BA: Where do you go out to eat and drink on your days off in Athens?
NK: I love to grab a frozen, totally frozen Daiquiri at Baba Au Rum or an amazing Dry Martini at Quinn’s Bar. For food, a traditional taverna very near to my work, to Line, called Giavri.
BA: What do you do that isn’t eating and drinking when you have time off? What other hobbies have you got?
NK: I like going for a stroll with my people, with the people that I love. Being with my cat and totally love listening to music and old records.
BA: Yeah? What’s your cat’s name?
NK: Lotto.
BA: What’s one album that you think everybody should listen to?
NK: I think it’s gonna be Fleetwood Mac – Rumours.
BA: Who’s your favorite fictional bartender?
NK: I think it’s in a movie. The bartender is a robot. It’s an AI robot. It’s in a movie. With Jennifer Lawrence and Chris from Guardians of the Galaxy. Like, uh, they’re traveling from Earth to space.
BA: Oh, yeah. It’s called, like, Galactic or something like that. (ed.- It is not. It is called Passengers)
NK: That’s my go-to.
BA: What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever gotten?
NK: Learn to sometimes let some people down. You can’t please everybody. You’re not french fries.
BA: What’s something that you’re excited about?
NK: It’s gonna be a little bit of a cliche but I’m totally excited for the future.
RETURN TO ALL HOSPITALITY GEMS
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Posted November 10th, 2026
